PL, knowing who the smith was that said the SA loaded was better than the Kimber and why he feels that way, and owning both a SA and Kimber 1911's, I will add to this conversation.
The Kimber is better finished, has better sights, and is fit tighter. I sometimes think it maybe a little too tight. I have two, both are accurate and have good trigger pulls. My newer Stainless Classic had slide stop problems. New one from Kimber was no better. Bought a slide stop from Advanced Combat Pistols, ACP, its not a problem anymore. Do not like the plastic main spring housing.
My SA has different hues on the blueing. The slide stop and grip safety are "purple". It has sharp edges everywhere. Needs a dehorning, and will get it sooner or later. The breach face was rough, and it had failure to feed problems early in its life. Trueing the face, and polishing helped this a lot.
Both are good buys, better than anything Colt has put out in awhile and for less money. It comes down to personal preference and the individual pistol. I have seen SA's that were wonderful and some that were POS's. I can say the same about Kimber. If I could only have one or the other, I would go with a Kimber. With that being said, my next 1911 will be a custom built one by the above smith.
Johnboy